LG to discontinue all UHD and Blu-ray players

[Tim n Tempe]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

THIS. News like this is depressing but the outcome was inevitable. It was bad enough when Samsung dropped out a couple years back. At this point, I've already mothballed a spare Oppo 203 and three spare Panny UBP-9000s (newest versions, all-region modded). And I won't be stopping there. Folks need to get ready in advance, or get burned. Are you the ant, or the grasshopper? I have 4,000+ blu rays of which at least 1200+ are uhds. I have zero intention of giving up on them for lack of functional players due to any failure on my part to plan for such an obvious eventuality.

Wow, that is hardcore. I’ve been pretty much done collecting for a couple years now. I still upgrade archaic transfers of my favorites, and buy some 3D discs.

When my one player dies, that will be it. Given that 4K Panasonics seemingly have a shelf life of under 10 years, I’m not long for the collecting world.

[Bernardo A.]

Originally Posted by Tim n Tempe

Wow, that is hardcore. I’ve been pretty much done collecting for a couple years now. I still upgrade archaic transfers of my favorites, and buy some 3D discs.

When my one player dies, that will be it. Given that 4K Panasonics seemingly have a shelf life of under 10 years, I’m not long for the collecting world.

The UB9000 certainly has a shelf life longer than that. It's built like a tank.

[Tim n Tempe]

Originally Posted by Bernardo A.

The UB9000 certainly has a shelf life longer than that. It's built like a tank.

I have all the firmware updates, and mine is already acting up. Mainly not playing DVD-R well at all pixelating, and locking up It is 6 years old.
It is very gently used, and well cared for.

[Bernardo A.]

Originally Posted by Tim n Tempe

I have all the firmware updates, and mine is already acting up. Mainly not playing DVD-R well at all pixelating, and locking up It is 6 years old.
It is very gently used, and well cared for.

Now you've just triggered my worst fears. Let's stop.

[Tim n Tempe]

Originally Posted by Bernardo A.

Now you've just triggered my worst fears. Let's stop.

It plays every 4K disc flawlessly

[Bernardo A.]

Originally Posted by Tim n Tempe

It plays every 4K disc flawlessly

Well, it's the UB9000.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Tim n Tempe

I have all the firmware updates, and mine is already acting up. Mainly not playing DVD-R well at all pixelating, and locking up It is 6 years old.
It is very gently used, and well cared for.

It's 6 years old. If you had four spares, you'd be good for at least 24 more years They don't wear out sitting in the box new on a shelf.

I now have two samsung 8500's, five Panny 9000's, and two Oppo 203's. I ride 1000cc street bikes at their limits, drag-race my supercharged car, and play with live ammunition and military weaponry every week. I'm fairly certain my barrage of 4k players will outlive me at this point

[Bernardo A.]

My 2012 Sony entry-level Sony player still works to this day.

[Stanis]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

It's 6 years old. If you had four spares, you'd be good for at least 24 more years They don't wear out sitting in the box new on a shelf.

I now have two samsung 8500's, five Panny 9000's, and two Oppo 203's. I ride 1000cc street bikes at their limits, drag-race my supercharged car, and play with live ammunition and military weaponry every week. I'm fairly certain my barrage of 4k players will outlive me at this point

Daylight, I had no idea you were in Cowboy Bebop

[Show spoiler]seriously you guys are awesome and thats why that episode is one of my favorites, for those that don't know the crew has to seek out a betacam deck and crt to play a mysterious tape from the past. keep hope alive!

That character reminds me of that one swedish(?) youtube guy with the messy house that had a wall of vcrs that he would describe endlessly.

My only 4k player I inherited when my father in law passed, I've got no backups and my orig blu died not long before... but I'm not one to purchase backup machines but you guys do you

[CrimsonLegionVMCXIX]

Originally Posted by Bernardo A.

My 2012 Sony entry-level Sony player still works to this day.

My PS3 from 2009 still works and plays blurays just fine, my slim PS2 can still play DVDs, and there are still PS1s about that can play CDs. If one mainly uses a console for media playback (like I do), I don't see replacing players as too much of a worry. There are millions of them out there, and people fix them up all the time.

I have no doubts that in ten, twenty years, I'll be able to find spare PS5s if my current one goes bust.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Stanis

My only 4k player I inherited when my father in law passed, I've got no backups and my orig blu died not long before... but I'm not one to purchase backup machines but you guys do you

I'm definitely very proficient at doing me. An expert, even....

I also have a sound system in my theater room, a surround sound system in my family room, and a surround sound system in my master bedroom, as well as a 4k player hooked up to a tv in one of my guest bedrooms, and they all get used. So....i have several HT systems in the house to keep happy, each of which a 4k player is at the heart of.

I'll probably grab one more low-mile Oppo and another new Panny 9000, and call it good.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Bernardo A.

The UB9000 certainly has a shelf life longer than that. It's built like a tank.

The first thing you notice about the 9000 is that it feels like it was made out of lead. Then you notice that almost whisper-quiet drive, effortlessly spinning up uhd discs that make your Sony 800 or Samsung 8500 sound like it's about to either implode violently, or take flight.....

[Glorian]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

It's 6 years old. If you had four spares, you'd be good for at least 24 more years They don't wear out sitting in the box new on a shelf.

They actually could fail from just sitting in a box, potentially. They've got mechanical parts; not sure of the construction, but rubber pulleys/belts could stiffen or crack, lubricants might get tacky, and so on. Certainly I've heard of trays refusing to open on players that have sat unused for years; I'm assuming because of rubber issues. Some devices are intended to have at least occasional use to retain function.

So I don't think stocking up on unused players is an effective solution; a player sitting in a box for 15 or 20 years has a pretty good chance of not working.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Glorian

They actually could fail from just sitting in a box, potentially. They've got mechanical parts; not sure of the construction, but rubber pulleys/belts could stiffen or crack, lubricants might get tacky, and so on. Certainly I've heard of trays refusing to open on players that have sat unused for years; I'm assuming because of rubber issues. Some devices are intended to have at least occasional use to retain function.

So I don't think stocking up on unused players is an effective solution; a player sitting in a box for 15 or 20 years has a pretty good chance of not working.

That's why smarter folks check their units to confirm function and run them for a few weeks when first buying them, and thereafter use their players gently in rotation. It also spreads out the wear beautifully The circuit boards in the units contain, among other things, filter capacitors that appreciate an occasional charge, and they utilize relays and other components that like to see some current as well. I also rotate receivers and power amplifiers for the same reason, always have. As just one example, I've gotten over 20 years flawless use out of two excellent Yamaha RX/v2095 nautralsound receivers for the vintage 5.1 surround system in my master bedroom. I rotate them every 2-3 years, takes just 10 minutes to swap the speaker wires and inputs/outputs.

[Glorian]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

That's why smarter folks check their units to confirm function and run them for a few weeks when first buying them, and thereafter use their players gently in rotation. It also spreads out the wear beautifully The circuit boards in the units contain, among other things, filter capacitors that appreciate an occasional charge, and they utilize relays and other components that like to see some current as well. I also rotate receivers and power amplifiers for the same reason, always have. As just one example, I've gotten over 20 years flawless use out of two excellent Yamaha RX/v2095 nautralsound receivers for the vintage 5.1 surround system in my master bedroom. I rotate them every 2-3 years, takes just 10 minutes to swap the speaker wires and inputs/outputs.

Yeah, that would work, but they're not just sitting in a box the whole time then, that's the point I was responding to. Using them in rotation is definitely more effective, but you hadn't mentioned that, so I thought you were suggesting people buy a bunch and just stick them in a closet for the next decade or 2.

[DaylightsEnd]

Originally Posted by Glorian

Yeah, that would work, but they're not just sitting in a box the whole time then, that's the point I was responding to. Using them in rotation is definitely more effective, but you hadn't mentioned that, so I thought you were suggesting people buy a bunch and just stick them in a closet for the next decade or 2.

Having basic minimal electrical knowledge and a little bit of equipment is also a good idea for maintaining HT systems and components.

I have a vintage B&K tube tester and bias probe, and I re-tube my own vintage tube power amps occasionally when needed.

I also NEVER just fire up a powered amplifier, receiver, or any kind or blu ray player that's been sitting idle for a while, by just plugging it into the wall and turning it on, which will deliver instant full voltage and can actually take out or damage aging electronic components. Electrolytic capacitors for example want to be re-formed or brought up slowly. I always plug my units into a variac and bring up the wall voltage slowly, so as not to deliver any harmful jolts of full juice directly to the circuit board or to filter capacitors, coupling caps, phase caps, bypass caps, and transformers. A little caution goes a long way.

[smithb]

I've had my Oppo BDP 83 since 2010 and it still works fine.

[Necril]

Originally Posted by DaylightsEnd

Having basic minimal electrical knowledge and a little bit of equipment is also a good idea for maintaining HT systems and components.

I have a vintage B&K tube tester and bias probe, and I re-tube my own vintage tube power amps occasionally when needed.

I also NEVER just fire up a powered amplifier, receiver, or any kind or blu ray player that's been sitting idle for a while, by just plugging it into the wall and turning it on, which will deliver instant full voltage and can actually take out or damage aging electronic components. Electrolytic capacitors for example want to be re-formed or brought up slowly. I always plug my units into a variac and bring up the wall voltage slowly, so as not to deliver any harmful jolts of full juice directly to the circuit board or to filter capacitors, coupling caps, phase caps, bypass caps, and transformers. A little caution goes a long way.

On the same subject: do you have thunderstorms in your area, and if you do, do you unplug all your HT equipment and then do the variac routine when you bring them back on every time? Or is there perhaps some more convenient and reliable option? I own overcharge protectors, but from what I've read, they are not 100% reliable.

[trespoochies]

Originally Posted by Necril

On the same subject: do you have thunderstorms in your area, and if you do, do you unplug all your HT equipment and then do the variac routine when you bring them back on every time? Or is there perhaps some more convenient and reliable option? I own overcharge protectors, but from what I've read, they are not 100% reliable.

Personal experience from me, but unplug during electrical storms. In my previous house in the theater room, I had everything hooked up and plugged into a power conditioner (Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Console) - except for 2 things - Nintendo Wii, and my Sharp 65" TV. This was due to position of the plugs vs length of the cords.

Then Memorial Day weekend 2014 we had a major electrical storms with tornados and the whole movie type stuff. A bolt of lightning directly hit our house. Everything was damaged or got fried. Oddly, the Sharp TV just needed a board replaced which I did myself. But everything connected to the Belkin got really screwed up. I make it a point to always unplug from that moment on. It takes seconds to do.

[Necril]

Originally Posted by trespoochies

Personal experience from me, but unplug during electrical storms. In my previous house in the theater room, I had everything hooked up and plugged into a power conditioner (Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Console) - except for 2 things - Nintendo Wii, and my Sharp 65" TV. This was due to position of the plugs vs length of the cords.

Then Memorial Day weekend 2014 we had a major electrical storms with tornados and the whole movie type stuff. A bolt of lightning directly hit our house. Everything was damaged or got fried. Oddly, the Sharp TV just needed a board replaced which I did myself. But everything connected to the Belkin got really screwed up. I make it a point to always unplug from that moment on. It takes seconds to do.

Sorry to hear about your incident. I've always thought unpluging electronics during thunderstorms the sensible thing to do, but based on what I've read in audiophile channels and even above comments, it seems it may have some adverse effects as well. Wish there was some way to make sure the equipment stays safe without the extra stress of constantly flicking the power on and off.